Sin of Pride cost Solomon 10 tribes

                                                                 1 Kings 11: 32-43

 

May 27, 2021

 

 ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes  (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),  because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did.   Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes.   But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and will give it to you, ten tribes.   Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.   And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel.   And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.   And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.’”   Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

 

Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon?   And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.  And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

 

The wisest and richest man to live on planet earth did not finish strong but brought disaster to his family and nation.  God told Jeroboam He would give him the 10 tribes of Israel and would establish his kingdom as he had with David, on this condition.  “And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.”

 

If you are wondering why would anyone not do so, have you given thought to why do you not listen and do what is right and keep His statutes and commandments?  It is so easy to blame the leadership in government or even the Church, but often we do not see the log in our eye, wanting to take the speck out of a brother's eye.

 

From The Back Porch,

Bob Rice

                                                                     1 Kings 11:23-33

 

May 25, 2021

 

 God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah.   And he gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band, after the killing by David. And they went to Damascus and lived there and made him king in Damascus.   He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Syria.

 

Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow, also lifted his hand against the king.   And this was the reason why he lifted his hand against the king. Solomon built the Millo and closed the breach of the city of David his father.  The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.   And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country.   Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him and tore it into twelve pieces.   And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes  (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that 

 

I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),  because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did. 

 

It matters not how God comes against a man, in Solomon's case it was two adversaries, one was an outlaw with a band of worthless men, of low values.  We have witnessed our President inviting the family of George Floyd to the Whitehouse in memory of their son.  George Floyd was an evil man who spent most of his life in prison for crimes against others.  I have yet to see the President honor a family that has lost their life by dying in the line of protecting the public as our police do every day.  We lost 138 of these men and women, of all colors whose job it is to keep the peace and address bad guys, who are breaking the law so far this year.  How many bad guys did the police shoot and kill this year?  (Offices down memorial page)  I look for a site that would give me a truthful account of how many unarmed black men in 2019, one group said 8 but the fact-checkers said they were wrong it was 13.  Now 13 is a long way from what one would believe by reading the New York Times, you would believe it was a number in 1000.

 

There is no excuse for the police officer that held Floyd on the ground, many questions in my mind as to why anyone would remove a handcuffed man from a squad car, it all seems a little crazy.  My reason for using this example or the adversary like the media, the Democrat party, ignorant of people who only get information from one source, believes what some group sends them on Facebook or some tweet.  Could that be we as a nation or under the judgment of a Holy God?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

The Lord Raises Adversaries

 1 Kings 11:9-22

 

May 24, 2021

 

 The Lord Raises Adversaries

 

And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded.   Therefore, the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.   Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.   However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”

And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom.    For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he struck down every male in Edom (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom).   But Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain Edomites of his father's servants, Hadad still being a little child.   They set out from Midian and came to Paran and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him an allowance of food and gave him land.    And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.   And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh.  But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.”   But Pharaoh said to him, “What have you lacked with me that you are now seeking to go to your own country?” And he said to him, “Only let me depart.”

My dad was not as forgiving or patient as God was with King Solomon, for he warned Solomon twice before bringing a judgment on the nation of Israel.  Dad only gave you one notice, and the next time was punishment for your bad choices.  And as a dad, I can tell you the last thing a dad should want is for his action to harm his children.  But Solomon did and we will see that he did not have the integrity of his dad David.  Solomon left his sons and the Nation under the judgment of a Holy God, and all the good that he did earlier was lost by his lust for women.

 

The Lord raised up two adversaries against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, and Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah.  We will explore how both were used by God to bring judgment.

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

The Lord Appears to Solomon

 

I Kings 9:1-9

 

May 14, 2021

 

The Lord Appears to Solomon

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace and had achieved all he had desired to do, the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.  The Lord said to him:

“I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.  “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

 “But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees, I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.  This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’  People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”

 

Do you enjoy great architecture, Jan and I have always enjoyed it and look for it when we travel, and I can only imagine the temple of Solomon and the other structures it was an amazing accomplishment.  The only thing I can compare it to, and it is not even close, is, in sales, closing that large account you never thought could be done. 

 

A promise with and if, in sales, we call that a carrot if you meet this quota, we will do this.  God promised, Solomon that He will always have a royal throne over Israel forever, with this condition, if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees, I have given you, I will cut you off from the land of Israel. 

 

We have seen the history and know that Solomon's heart was drawn away by his many foreign wives and their gods that had no ability to hear or see, much less part of the Red Sea.  It is hard to understand how a very wise man, could become that big a fool, but then it is also hard to understand why we do not pay attention to history and learn from it.

 

The USA, a nation that was built on a foundation of freedom and the right to own land and travel without asking for approval and to make decisions that may be a blessing or might cost you your freedom, has chosen the little gods and government over a God who loves them.

 

Maybe being a fool is something we choose but it, is not a requirement, is it?  As I observe Washington D.C. and the group of people, the people who have chosen to be our Representatives in the house and senate, maybe we have lost our minds.  So many ungodly, evil people that come with little in the way of wealth, and the longer they stay the more wealth they get, on government pay?

 

If the FBI were not a part of this mob, they would be putting most of them in prison, for taking bribes, and payoff under the table, and for a man who works hard for 41 years and saved his money, I’m saving not close to what they steal in a few months, of being your public servant.  Public Servants, that's a big joke, they are liars and thieves, and we the people have been too busy to acknowledge the truth.  But God, has noticed and payday is coming for each of them, and the sad thing is their actions will bring harm to each of us and our families.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

Solomon Turns from the Lord

 

1 Kings 11:1-8

 

May 10, 2021

 

Solomon Turns from the Lord

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.   He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.   For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.   For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.   So, Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.   Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem.   And so, he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.

 

I have often said it is a wise person who understands the unique type of flesh God has given them, yet Solomon with all his wisdom never checked out his flesh.  As a boy king, he began strong, seeking God and wanting his will.  But the enemy of his soul also had a plan it worked on Solomon, and it will work on you and me.  The old serpent, the devil or thief, is the way Jesus refers to him “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

 

At some point he listened to the wrong voice, I call that Channel One, the deceptive channel, it is a voice that sounds like ours.  But Solomon had to tune out of Channel two the quieter voice and listen to his flesh desires and not the Holy Spirit of God.  It is clear 
Solomon had lustful flesh, and a desire to do what they wanted, and unlike his father David, was not confronted by a man of God, like Nathan.  David always when confronted by his sins, would humble himself, and repent, we do not see that happening with Solomon.

 

Has the church, of 2021 gone the way of Solomon, paying no attention to or teaching its people about their unique version of the flesh?  The old thief, the devil loves ignorant about such subjects, if one thing is their thoughts and not that of the devil, sending it to them, they are fair game for his plan to destroy, their marriage, family, business, and testimony of what Jesus is doing in their life.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

A People Deparing from God

 

1 Kings 8: 31-40

 

May 9, 2021

 

 

“If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house,  then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

 

 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

 

As you read these first two paragraphs, it would be wise to consider your nation: has it departed from the authority of the Lord, and maybe, yes, you need to ask, have I departed from the precepts of the Scriptures? 

 

“When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin when you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

 

Often we will hear or quote 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then  will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  I must tell you that most of us would not know how to be humble we have few examples of it in our world.  I have only met a few men that I was able to call humble men.  T.W. Hunt was such a man, he spoke several languages, wrote and published many books, was a professor of music, and a great teacher on prayer and walking with God.  I was honored to be his friend, and in one of our talks, he shared, “ Bob, I am a wicked man, I was shocked, how could he say such a thing about himself?  My reply was if you are wicked, I do not have a change, you are one of the meekest and godliest men I ever know.  As I gave thought to that it became clear, that T.W. was not comparing himself to other men, but to his master, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the older I get and the more time I’ve spent in prayer and the Scriptures,  I know that I also have wicked flesh, my mind often thinks on evil thoughts, I am often a Pharisee, wanting others to think more highly of me than both God and I know to be true.  So if we cannot be humble in our spirit, and action, can we expect God to honor our prayers?

 

“If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

 

The bottom line is, that we need to stop going to church, and Bible studies if we have no desire to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith.  2 Corinthians 13:5, is a great place to begin, and if you pass the test, then ask Jesus to show you how to allow Him to live His life in you, we have too many people who have great knowledge of the Scriptures but no application.  

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

 

 

1 Kings 8:22-30

May 8, 2021

 

 

 Solomon's Prayer of Dedication

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven,  and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;  you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day.   Now, therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’   Now, therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

 

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!   Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day,  that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.   And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”

 

I can only imagine such a leader of a nation, who understands what God has done and will do for a person, or people, or nation that will look to Him, and obey his statutes and precept.

 

In the next paragraph, Solomon asks a rhetorical question, it was not as if he did not know the answer, but it could be he wanted the people to understand, that no place no matter its size can house the totality of God.

 

When it came to prayer and offering, one must come to God with a broken and contrite heart.  Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  1 Samuel 15:22, “But Samuel declared: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.”

When we come to God we have an agenda, we what our will to be done, but is that a broken spirit and contrite heart, is it obedience to His voice?  Often I found it is not, for we are too impatient to be still and listen for that quiet voice of God.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice